Heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) is likely to enable the next wave of areal density growth in the hard disk drive (HDD) industry. The HAMR magnetic recording media differs from conventional magnetic recording media in that the HAMR media must be designed to achieve certain thermal and thermo-magnetic properties so that the electromagnetic energy received from a near field transducer (NFT) on the head can be used effectively in assisting writing sharp magnetic transitions at the high intended recording densities.